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Theatre and Dance Inquiry

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Dancer mid-jump, their sleeves flowing out beside them, with other dancers and an intricate projection of historical art and maps in the background

Playwright Kirk Lynn Discusses the Role of Research in Art

August 8, 2023 | Arts and Culture Texas

Faculty member Kirk Lynn and fellow Texas artists discuss their processes when creating research-based work. Lynn speaks about his work completing and adapting Thornton Wilder's The Emporium, which will premiere at the Alley Theatre in May 2024. 

Three actors perform in TOROS, one standing behind a laptop, in what looks like a garage studio space

Danny Tejera's Toros Featured in The New York Times

August 7, 2023 | The New York Times

The Off-Broadway premiere of Toros by Danny Tejera (M.F.A. 2020) was featured as a critic's pick in The New York Times. Tejera's play, which just concluded its run with Second Stage Theater, was praised as a "finely detailed character study of languishing jet-set twentysomethings."

Mateo Hernandez, Lily Odekirk and Deen Rawlins-Harris pose together after their presentation

Faculty, Students and Alumni at the 2023 AATE Conference

August 3, 2023

On July 27-29, UT Theatre and Dance faculty, students and alumni travelled to Seattle to attend and present at the 2023 American Alliance for Theatre & Education (AATE) conference. 

Scenic designer Polly Robbins’ (M.F.A., Drama, 1990) work on "Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio” showcased at MoMa

Aug. 3, 2023 | Museum of Modern Art

Design work by Polly Robbins was featured at the Museum of Modern Art as part of the exhibition Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. The exhibition showcased a behind-the-scenes look at the Academy Award-winning film earlier this spring. Following her success with Pinocchio, Robbins worked on the stop-motion children’s show Shape Island on Apple TV. She's currently working with House Special as the lead scenic artist on an upcoming film short.

Gesel Mason wearing a blue dress posing outside while doing research for her project YES, AND

Gesel Mason in Residence at Bates Dance Festival

July 22, 2023 | Bates Dance Festival

Faculty member Gesel Mason has received a summer residency with Bates Dance Festival. Mason, along with Ph.D. candidate Yunina Barbour-Payne, alum Love Muwwakkil (M.F.A. 2023) and their collaborators, will use this time to workshop her project Yes, And in preparation for a performance the following summer.

Actors and current students Dominic Gross and Mia Hsiung Nguyen perform in an outdoor performance space

Current Acting Students Perform at Illinois Shakespeare Festival

July 13, 2023

Current B.F.A. in Acting students Mia Hsiung Nguyen and Dominic Gross are spending the summer months performing in Illinois Shakespeare Festival's 2023 season. As acting interns, Nguyen and Gross have rehearsed and performed alongside their fellow interns and a company of professional actors, including alum Geoffrey Warren Barnes II (M.F.A. 2013).

Filmmaker Lane Michael Stanley sitting with the production team for one of their films, looking joyfully at the camera screen

Alum Lane Michael Stanley Receives coLAB Arts Residency to Work with Mission First Housing Group

July 12, 2023

Alum Lane Michael Stanley (M.F.A. 2020) has accepted a ten month long artist residency with coLAB Arts and Mission First Housing Group. Through this residency, Stanley will develop new works in collaboration with the communities at Mission First Housing Group's permanent supportive housing facilities.

Headshot for dancer and current student Evan Carlson

Dancer Evan Carlson Performs at Woodstock Playhouse

July 10, 2023 | Woodstock Playhouse

Current B.F.A. in Dance major Evan Carlson has spent his summer on the stage at Woodstock Playhouse in New York in multiple productions. He held the principal role of "Motel" in Fiddler on the Roof and has also performed in Monty Python’s Spamalot; Hello, Dolly! and a TYA production of The Pied Piper of Hamelin.

A graphic for ROALD DAHL'S MATILDA THE MUSICAL, featuring silhouettes of a little girl standing up to a large woman

Alumni Collaborate on Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical at Zilker Theatre

July 7, 2023 | Zilker Theatre Productions

Zilker Theatre Productions presents Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical, co-produced by Jason Kruger (B.F.A. 1996) with costume design by Jessi Rose (M.F.A. 2019). The outdoor production will be on stage July 7-August 12, 2023.

Ph.D. candidate and S. Randolph Edmonds Young Scholars' First Prize winner Yunina Barbour-Payne

Yunina Barbour-Payne Receives First Prize in the S. Randolph Edmonds Young Scholars Competition

July 5, 2023

Current Ph.D. candidate Yunina Barbour-Payne has received first prize in Black Theatre Network's S. Randolph Edmonds Young Scholars Competition in the graduate division. Her award-winning paper is entitled "Costuming for an Affrilachian Stage: The Color Purple in Crystal Wilkinson's Blackberries, Blackberries."